IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5892 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To establish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the 

Workplace to advise the Secretary of Labor on actions 

the Department of Labor can take to address the impact 

of opioid abuse on the workplace. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

2 ON OPIOIDS AND THE WORKPLACE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

4 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall estab5 lish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace 

6 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’) to 

7 advise the Secretary on actions the Department of Labor 

8 can take to provide informational resources and best prac9 tices on how to appropriately address the impact of opioid 

10 abuse on the workplace and support workers abusing 

11 opioids. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary of Labor 

14 shall appoint as members of the Advisory Committee 

15 19 individuals with expertise in employment, work16 place health programs, human resources, substance 

17 use disorder, and other relevant fields. The Advisory 

18 Committee shall be composed as follows: 

19 (A) Four of the members shall be individ20 uals representative of employers or other orga21 nizations representing employers. 

22 (B) Four of the members shall be individ23 uals representative of workers or other organi24 zations representing workers, of which at least 

25 two must be representatives designated by labor 

26 organizations. 


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1 (C) Three of the members shall be individ2 uals representative of health benefit plans, em3 ployee assistance plan providers, workers’ com4 pensation program administrators, and work5 place safety and health professionals. 

6 (D) Eight of the members shall be individ7 uals representative of substance abuse treat8 ment and recovery experts, including medical 

9 doctors, licensed addiction therapists, and sci10 entific and academic researchers, of which one 

11 individual may be a representative of a local or 

12 State government agency that oversees or co13 ordinates programs that address substance use 

14 disorder. 

15 (2) CHAIR.—From the members appointed 

16 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 appoint a chairperson. 

18 (3) TERMS.—Each member of the Advisory 

19 Committee shall serve for a term of 3 years. A mem20 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed 

21 only for the remainder of such term. 

22 (4) QUORUM.—A majority of members of the 

23 Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum and 

24 action shall be taken only by a majority vote of the 

25 members. 


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1 (5) VOTING.—The Advisory Committee shall es2 tablish voting procedures. 

3 (6) NO COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advi4 sory Committee shall serve without compensation. 

5 (7) DISCLOSURE.—Every member of the Advi6 sory Committee must disclose the entity, if applica7 ble, that he or she is representing. 

8 (c) DUTIES.— 

9 (1) ADVISEMENT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com11 mittee established under subsection (a) shall 

12 advise the Secretary of Labor on actions the 

13 Department of Labor can take to provide infor14 mational resources and best practices on how to 

15 appropriately address the impact of opioid 

16 abuse on the workplace and support workers 

17 abusing opioids. 

18 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In providing such 

19 advice, the Advisory Committee shall take into 

20 account— 

21 (i) evidence-based and other employer 

22 substance abuse policies and best practices 

23 regarding opioid use or abuse, including 

24 benefits provided by employee assistance 


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1 programs or other employer-provided bene2 fits, programs, or resources; 

3 (ii) the effect of opioid use or abuse 

4 on the safety of the workplace as well as 

5 policies and procedures addressing work6 place safety and health; 

7 (iii) the impact of opioid abuse on 

8 productivity and absenteeism, and assess9 ments of model human resources policies 

10 that support workers abusing opioids, such 

11 as policies that facilitate seeking and re12 ceiving treatment and returning to work; 

13 (iv) the extent to which alternative 

14 pain management treatments other than 

15 opioids are or should be covered by em16 ployer-sponsored health plans; 

17 (v) the legal requirements protecting 

18 employee privacy and health information in 

19 the workplace, as well as the legal require20 ments related to nondiscrimination; 

21 (vi) potential interactions of opioid 

22 abuse with other substance use disorders; 

23 (vii) any additional benefits or re24 sources available to an employee abusing 


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1 opioids that promote retaining employment 

2 or reentering the workforce; 

3 (viii) evidence-based initiatives that 

4 engage employers, employees, and commu5 nity leaders to promote early identification 

6 of opioid abuse, intervention, treatment, 

7 and recovery; 

8 (ix) workplace policies regarding 

9 opioid abuse that reduce stigmatization 

10 among fellow employees and management; 

11 and 

12 (x) the legal requirements of the Men13 tal Health Parity and Addiction Equity 

14 Act and other laws related to health cov15 erage of substance abuse and mental 

16 health services and medications. 

17 (2) REPORT.—Prior to its termination as pro18 vided in subsection (j), the Advisory Committee shall 

19 issue a report to the Secretary of Labor and to the 

20 Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

22 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen23 ate, detailing successful programs and policies in24 volving workplace resources and benefits, including 

25 recommendations or examples of best practices for 


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1 how employers can support and respond to employ2 ees impacted by opioid abuse. 

3 (d) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall meet 

4 at least twice a year at the call of the chairperson. 

5 (e) STAFF SUPPORT.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

6 make available staff necessary for the Advisory Committee 

7 to carry out its responsibilities. 

8 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

9 Federal Advisory Committee Act shall apply to the Advi10 sory Committee established under this Act. 

11 (g) NO APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—No additional 

12 funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

13 Act. Expenses of the Advisory Committee shall be paid 

14 with funds otherwise appropriated to Departmental Man15 agement within the Department of Labor. 

16 (h) EX OFFICIO.—Three nonvoting representatives 

17 from agencies within the Department of Health and 

18 Human Services whose responsibilities include opioid pre19 scribing guidelines, workplace safety, and monitoring of 

20 substance abuse and prevention programs shall be ap21 pointed by the Secretary of Labor and designated as ex 

22 officio members. 

23 (i) AGENDA.—The Secretary of Labor or a represent24 ative of the Secretary shall consult with the Chair in es25 tablishing the agenda for Committee meetings. 


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1 (j) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee estab2 lished under this Act shall terminate 3 years after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 13, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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